The Horrible Hotel
by BookMissionaryAuthor
Summary: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny hide from the police by taking a job hotel sitting, in complete isolation. A family was murdered at the hotel and Klaus is getting crazier by the day. Will the evil hotel drive him to chopping his sisters up? Based on The Shining.
1. The Bad Beginning

The Horrible Hotel

**1**

_The Bad Beginning_

Violet sat at the little table in her and her siblings' cheap motel room, staring off into space. Sunny was munching on a box of Frosted Flakes - the travel size kind you always see in QuickStops and hotels. The cardboard tasted bad, but it was chewy with crunchiness on the inside - always an interesting eat.

"Well Sunny," said Violet, trying to start a conversation, "If Klaus gets this job, it could be the break we need to get our act together." she bit her lip. What if he didn't get the job, though?

Klaus had recently gone through a strange and convenient growth spurt, and Violet had mentioned jokingly once that he looked like a skinny, nerdy adult. This gave Klaus the idea of getting a job. When they read in the newspaper about a job hotel-sitting in complete isolation for five months, Klaus thought it was perfect.

"Five months of isolation?" Violet asked worriedly.

"We've been through worse," replied Klaus, "and this will give us a chance to truly relax and try to think of a way to get away from or stop Count Olaf! Or at least clear our name."

In the end Violet agreed and Klaus, after using his intelligence and knowledge to make a fake ID and other important papers, rode a bus to an office for an interview.

"It would be fun, staying in that grand hotel." Violet said, half to Sunny, half to herself.

"I don't want to go there, Mrs. Baudelaire," said Sunny, making her voice croaky like a frog. Violet winced. This was a development in Sunny that had started recently. An invisible friend.

At first Violet thought Sunny had an alternate personality or something, but was slightly reassured when Sunny told her that it was Jane who talked with the frog voice. Jane was a little girl who lived in Sunny's mouth.

The worst part was that although Sunny talked in funny words like "Doh" and "Flandar" that only her siblings could understand, Jane talked in perfect English. It creeped Violet out.

"Why don't you want to go there, Jane?" asked Violet with a little shiver.

"I just don't." croaked Sunny.

Violet sighed and stroked Sunny's head. "Well, I'm sure we'll all have a good time."

She sounded surer than she felt.

**XOXO**

"The winters can be fantastically cruel. And the basic idea is to cope with the very costly damage and depreciation, which can occur. And this consists mainly of running the boiler, heating different parts of the hotel on a daily, rotating basis, repair damage as it occurs, and doing repairs so that the elements can't get a foothold."

Klaus was sitting in a very ugly chair in the office of John Herowitz, his interviewer, who was telling him what the job would entail. He was quite nervous; he didn't think he looked like an adult at all. Would they notice? Would they arrest him if they did? He shifted uncomfortably; the seat was misshapen as well as ugly.

"Oh that's fine, I'm great at that sort of stuff." he wasn't really listening; he was too worried about jail.

"Physically, it's not a very demanding job. The only thing that can get a bit trying up here during the winter is the tremendous sense of isolation. Five months, you know." The interviewer avoided Klaus's eyes. Klaus didn't notice.

"We like isolation." Klaus said simply.

"Ah." said Mr. Herowitz. "But you see, Mr. Baudelaire, there is something you do not know."

"Oh?" Klaus asked, interested.

"Well, my predecessor in this job hired a man named Charles Grady as the winter caretaker. And he came up here with his wife and two little girls, I think about eight and ten. And he had a good employment record, good references, and from what I've been told, I mean he seemed like a completely normal individual." The interviewer loosened his tie before continuing. Klaus took this as a bad sign. Mr. Herowitz continued.

"At some point during the winter, he must have suffered some kind of a complete mental breakdown. He ran amuck and… killed his family with an axe. Stacked 'em neatly in one of the rooms of the West Wing, and then he put both barrels of a shotgun in his mouth." He cleared his throat, still looking at the floor, and Klaus's eyes widened.

"Police, they thought that was what the old-timers used to call cabin fever. Kind of claustrophobic reaction which can occur when people are shut in together over long periods of time."

Silence in the room.

"That's... quite a story." Klaus said carefully.

"I thought it was only right to tell you."

"Thank you." Klaus said, and stood up. "Don't worry about us, sir. Neither me nor my, err, wife will go mad." he tried to smile but ended up with a grimace.

"If you're sure..."

"Yes."

John Herowitz stood up as well and shook Klaus's hand. "I'll see you at the hotel in two days then, Mr. Baudelaire."

Klaus nodded, smiled, and left the room, heading for the door at a brisk walk.

He sighed with relief when he was outside of the stuffy office. He was not worried about the story Herowitz had told him, but he was glad he hadn't been caught.

Now he had the job. What could go wrong?

**XOXO**

Sunny walked into the bathroom and began brushing her four sharp teeth. She took great care of them, especially since with Count Olaf on the loose, she might need them someday. Sunny looked in the mirror. Jane began to speak, croaking as ever.

"Klaus has gotten the job." Jane said. "He'll call Violet now and tell her he got it."

Just then the phone rang and Violet picked it up.

"Hey Klaus. You're ok? You got it? Thank goodness…"

Sunny turned back to the mirror.

"Blanka?" she asked Jane, which probably meant something like, "Why don't you want to go there?"

"Not telling." Jane said.

"Gralnak!" Sunny demanded, which probably meant, "Tell me!"

Suddenly, images flooded into Sunny's mind. Blood squeezing out around the edges of a door, flowing into a lobby. Two twin girls in blue party dresses holding hands in a corridor. Blood in the hall again, so much that the furniture floated…

Mouth open in a silent scream of horror, Sunny fainted.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

For this chapter Sunny is speaking in her usual baby language, though before I had her in English. Now I think I'll make her speak in her regular baby talk, except for one point in chapter three when she talks a lot. Hope you guys like the changes. 


	2. The Overlook Hotel

The Horrible Hotel

**2**

_The Hotel_

"Sunny? Sunny, wake up! Are you alright?"

Sunny opened her eyes and looked up into her worried sister's eyes.

"Kareem," Sunny reassured her, which probably meant something like, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"What happened? I came in to tell you the Klaus got the job, and you were lying on the floor, unconscious." Violet bit her lip.

"Gangar nest hasselhof!" she said, which meant, "I was starting to brush my teeth and I just... fainted. I don't remember why." She touched her sister's hand.

"Hernada!" Sunny said soothingly, which probably meant something along the lines of, "Violet, please don't worry. I'm fine!" Then she stood up and went into the kitchen to look for something to eat.

Violet sighed. First Jane, now a faint. What would happen next? Violet hoped that this job Klaus got would be the rest they needed. She was so worried about her sister!

**XOXO**

The Baudelaire orphans had been planning this for a long time. One of the things they knew they were going to need to know was how to drive. Klaus would've been the ideal choice to be a driver, but he was a short nerd and decided to let Violet do most of the driving.

As for learning how to drive, well, that had been easy. Klaus had read plenty of books about how to drive. All he had to do was figure out how to adapt his knowledge to real life and teach himself and Violet.

They were now making their way along a road that wound around a mountain. At the top was the Overlook Hotel, the place that the Baudelaires were being paid to take care of.

Violet glanced sideways at her brother in the passenger seat nervously. He had of late been falling into sort of depressions where his face would become dark and he would be silent for a long time. He was in one of those moods now, as he stared at their map, frowning. She decided to break the ice.

"Hey, wasn't it around here that the Donner party got snowbound?" she said, a bit too cheerfully. She couldn't really remember much about the Donner party, that was her brother's department.

"Yes." he said.

"Wotcher?" Sunny asked, which probably meant something like, "What's the Donner Party?"

"They were a party of settlers in covered-wagon times. They got snowbound one winter in these mountains. They had to resort to cannibalism in order to stay alive." Klaus explained, a glint of mischievousness in his eye.

"Klaus!" Violet exclaimed, horrified he would say such a thing in front of Sunny.

"Blackjack!" Sunny said reassuringly. I would hazard a guess that she meant something like, "It's ok, Violet. I ate a book about cannibalism once, so I know all about it."

"See, Violet? She's cool with it." Klaus said, still staring at his map. Violet sighed and looked out her left window instead, at the fantastic view of forest beneath them. It would have been breathtaking if Violet wasn't so worried. She sighed and told herself to calm down. Soon they would be safe from Count Olaf. They had five months to plan.

**XOXO**

The Baudelaire orphans stood in the lobby of the Overlook Hotel in wonder. Never had they seen such extravagance. True, they had been in rich people's houses, but a hotel is different.

First off, it was huge. Second off, it was beautiful.

The hotel was decorated with Native American artifacts. Hand-woven tapestries hung from the walls, the wooden tables held artifacts like clay bowls and arrowheads, and all the artwork was Indian-themed. The furniture, rugs, and wallpaper were very fine and expensive-looking. The floor was polished wood. All in all, the room looked very fancy.

Workers were rushing to and fro, getting ready to leave the hotel for good, carrying boxes of random stuff and shouting orders.

"Ah! Baudelaires!" called a voice. They turned around the see John Herowitz, Klaus's interviewer and employer. He rushed over and shook Klaus's hand, then looked at Violet.

"You must be Mrs. Baudelaire." he said.

"Oh please, call me Violet," Violet said, blushing with embarrassment as he shook her hand as well.

"Of course. And this must be Sunny!" he smiled down at the youngest Baudelaire for a moment before returning to Klaus and Violet.

"So, shall I give you the grand tour?"

He walked with them through the hallways, showing them around the hotel. Sunny stayed behind, having found a wonderfully chewy rug in a corner.

"This is the loveliest hotel I've ever seen!" Violet exclaimed softly. "Are all these Indian designs authentic?" she fingered a tapestry on the wall.

"I believe so." Mr. Herowitz said. "This old place has had an illustrious past. Four presidents have stayed here. Lots of movie stars, and royalty too."

Violet's eyes widened. "Really? How interesting." She smiled. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Klaus said nothing.

**XOXO**

Sunny sat in some sort of office - probably for whoever owned the hotel - and chewed contentedly on a soft rug.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and goose bumps erupted along her arms. She slowly turned around.

Standing behind her were two identical girls, not much older than Sunny, in matching powder blue party dresses. They stared at Sunny with identical blue eyes for a moment, holding hands, before turning around and walking away.

**XOXO**

Mr. Herowitz had lead them outside and was now showing the older siblings the hotel grounds. Violet blinked.

In front of the hotel was an enormous hedge maze. A hedge maze, as you may or may not know, is a 3-d maze where all the walls are made out of shrubbery. You may have seen one in the fourth Harry Potter movie. This hedge maze was not as big as the Harry Potter hedge maze, but it was rather large.

"Wow." Klaus said.

"Yes. It's quite an attraction around here. The walls are thirteen feet high and the hedges about as old as the hotel itself. It's a lot of fun, but I wouldn't want to go in there unless I had an hour to spare to find my way out." John Herowitz said.

"Construction started in 1907. It was finished in 1909. The site is supposed to be located on an Indian burial ground and I believe they actually had to repel a few Indian attacks as they were building it."

"A burial ground? But that's awful!" Violet protested.

"Yes, it is." Mr. Herowitz said unconvincingly. Then he led them to a shed with what looked like a red car on tank wheels.

"This is our Sno-Cat." he said, and Violet smiled at the cute name. "It enables you to drive over snow. Hopefully you won't have to use it, but it's there if you need to get out."

Then he too them back inside the hotel and showed them an enormous ballroom.

"This is The Gold Room," he said, and the two siblings stared up in speechless wonder.

The entire room was gold, including the walls, tables, chairs, banners, and bar.

"Cool." Klaus said, his voice echoing in the vast space.

"This room can accommodate 300 people." Mr. Herowitz said proudly.

"We could have a party in here." Violet said thoughtfully.

"I'm afraid you're not going to do too well here, unless you brought your own supplies. We always remove all the booze from the premises when we shut down. That reduces the insurance we normally have to carry." said Herowitz.

"We don't drink." Klaus said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, you're in luck."

Then he led them into one of the upstairs rooms.

"This is your room." Herowitz said.

"It's very homey." Klaus commented politely.

The door opened into a living room. A door on the far side of the room held the bedroom, and on the far side of that lay the door to the bathroom. It was a bit smaller than most of the rooms, although it was well furnished with fine tables and soft chairs and beds.

"And now for our last stop: the kitchens."

John Herowitz led them back down to the main floor to the kitchen, where Sunny joined them. Here they found a surprise.

"This is our head chef, Mr. Derek Forrest. Derek, would you be kind enough to show them around? I have business to attend to." And with that, Mr. Herowitz swept out of the room.

Violet looked at the head chef, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Quigley?" she whispered.

"Shh!" said Quigley, grinning and putting a finger to his lips. "My name here is Derek. I'm hiding out until I'm 18 and can collect my fortune!" he whispered.

"Wow. Small world. That's what we're doing!" Violet hissed excitedly back. It took all of her strength not to throw her arms around Quigley right then and there. "Are you going to stay here too?"

"No, I'm going back to my apartment for the winter. But we can keep in touch." he smiled.

"Well," Quigley said in his regular voice, "I better show you around the kitchen before I have to go. Follow me." He led them into the pantry, a room with a locking metal door full of jars and cans and boxes.

"One thing for sure, you won't have to worry about food, because you guys can eat up here a whole year and never have the same menu twice." he began to describe all the different types of food the hotel had.

Then Sunny felt the hair on her arms stand up and a tickling sensation in her brain. Quigley looked directly at her.

_How'd you like some ice cream, Sunny?_ he asked in her head.

"...canned fruits and vegetables, canned fish and meats, hot and cold syrups..."

Sunny came back to the conversation with a jolt. Quigley was talking to Violet and Klaus again. Finally he finished and grinned at Sunny.

"You like ice cream, Sunny? We have some in the freezer, I think."

Sunny nodded, speechless. Quigley led them out of the pantry and into the freezer next door, locking the pantry behind him. He told them about the different kinds of meat in it before taking out a tub of ice cream for Sunny and himself. Unfortunately, Klaus and Violet couldn't join them because they had to fill out papers and discuss boring stuff with Mr. Herowitz, they're employer.

"Well, that's the end of the tour. Pretty soon you'll have the whole hotel to yourselves- by five o'clock you won't know anybody was here." John Herowitz said to Violet and Klaus once they were inside his office.

Violet twisted her skirt nervously behind her back. This was their last chance to get out of it, before they were past the point of no return. Still, Klaus seemed to like it, and it was a beautiful hotel. And she had met Quigley- surly a good omen.

Oh, Quigley… how glad she was that he was alive!

So why couldn't she shake this feeling of uneasiness off?


	3. The Shining

The Horrible Hotel

**3**

_The Shining_

Quigley watched Sunny eat her ice cream thoughtfully.

"So… how long have you been able to do this?" he asked, finally.

"Narkack?" asked Sunny evasively, which probably meant something along the lines of, "What?"

"Shine."

"Shine?" Sunny gave Quigley a confused look.

"Yeah." He looked off into the distance. "I remember when I was younger- and my family was alive and I was with my siblings- I remember how me and my grandmother used to hold long conversations- without even opening our mouths. She called it "shining."

And for a long time, I thought it was just the two of us that had the shine to us. Just like you probably thought you were the only one. But there are other folks, though mostly they don't know it, or don't believe it. How long have you been able to do it?" He looked questioningly at Sunny.

Sunny didn't answer, just continued to eat her Rocky Road. Ahh, sweet chewyness.

"Why don't you want to talk about it?" Quigley asked.

Sunny looked up. "I'm not supposed to." She said.

Quigley was surprised. "Who says you aren't supposed to?"

"Jane." Sunny said simply.

"Who's Jane?"

"Jane's the little girl inside my mouth."

Quigley blinked. "If I looked in your mouth, would I see her?"

"No, she hides." Sunny said, looking at him as though this were obvious.

Quigley thought a moment.

"Does Jane tell you things?" he asked.

"Yes." Sunny's ice cream was now finished. She was a fast eater.

"How does she tell you things?"

" It's like I go to sleep, and she shows me things. But when I wake up, I can't remember everything."

Quigley bit his lip. "Does Violet and Klaus know about Jane?

"Yes."

"Do they know she tells you things?"

"No. Jane told me never to tell 'em." Sunny licked her fingers clean.

"Has Jane ever told you anything about this place? About the Overlook Hotel?"

Sunny pondered a moment. "I don't know."

"Now think real hard now. Think!" he stared at Sunny.

Sunny paused.

"Maybe she showed me something."

"Try to think of what it was."

Sunny looked at Quigley.

"Quigley, are you scared of this place?" she asked.

"No. Scared - there's nothing here." He scratched his chin nervously. "It's just that, you know, some places are like people. Some 'shine' and some don't. I guess you could say the Overlook Hotel here has something almost like 'shining.'"

Sunny looked at her nails. "Is there something bad here?"

"Well, you know, Sunny, when something happens, you can leave a trace of itself behind. Say like, if someone burns toast. There's a smell in the air.

Well, maybe things that happen leave other kinds of traces behind. Not things that anyone can notice, but things that people who 'shine' can see. Just like they can see things that haven't happened yet. Well, sometimes they can see things that happened a long time ago. I think a lot of things happened right here in this particular hotel over the years. And not all of them were good."

Sunny looked Quigley in the eye. "What about Room 237?"

Quigley stiffened. "Room 237?"

"You're scared of Room 237, aren't you?" she asked.

"No I'm not!"

"Quigley," said Sunny, her voice dropping to a whisper, "what's in Room 237?"

"Nothing! There's nothing in Room 237! You don't have any business going in there anyway. So stay out! You understand? Stay out!" Quigley shouted.

Sunny said nothing.

**One Month Later**

Everything was going wonderfully. The Baudelaires could not remember a time when they had felt so safely ensconced - a word that here means, "happily safe, comfortable, and not likely to be bothered or forced to move by Count Olaf for some time."

They passed their days well. The hotel had many board games as well and foosball and ping pong tables. Sometimes they'd take a dip in the pool. Klaus had taken to writing a book in his spare time.

At this moment, while Sunny is riding around the hotel on one of those serving trays on wheels, Violet is bringing breakfast upstairs for her and Klaus.

"It's really nice up here, isn't it?" Violet said with a pleased sigh, looking out the window over the beautiful hotel grounds.

"I love it. I really do. I've never been this happy or comfortable anywhere." Klaus said, over the top of a book he was reading.

"Yeah, it's amazing how fast you get used to such a big place. I'm telling you, when we first came up here, I thought it was kind of scary," Violet tittered.

"I fell in love with it right away. When I came up here for my interview, it was as though I had been here before. I mean, we all have moments of 'deja-vu,' but this was ridiculous." Klaus looked up. "It was almost as though I knew what was going to be around every corner."

**Tuesday**

Klaus was busily typing out a story on his laptop, which he had connected to the hotel's printer in the lobby. Violet came in with a smile on her face.

"Hey Klaus. Gloomy day, eh? Weather forecast says it's going to snow tonight." she smiled at the windows.

"What do you want _me_ to do about it?" Klaus said, his voice tight. Violet frowned.

"You ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Klaus said, although he obviously wasn't.

"You sure? You sound kind of angry."

Klaus clenched his teeth shut and his hands into fists.

"Maybe I'm just trying not to lose my concentration." He snapped, venom oozing from every word. Violet was so shocked she took a step backwards. How could her little brother talk like that? He had never done so before, ever!

"Ok, ok… I'll make you some sandwiches and come back later. Maybe I could read some of your book then!" She tried to smile and lighten the mood. Klaus glared at her with cold, angry eyes.

"Violet, let me explain something to you. Whenever you come in here and interrupt me, you're breaking my concentration. You're distracting me." He hit his desk with his fist, ripped up a few already printed pages, and threw them onto the floor. "And it will then take me time to get back to where I was. Understand?"

Violet stared, scared. She managed a small nod.

"Fine. I'm going to make a new rule. Whenever I'm in here, and you hear me typing," he typed a few keys to demonstrate, "whether you don't hear me typing, whatever the _hell_ you hear me doing in here, when I'm in here, that means that I am _working_. That means _don't_ come in. Now do you think you can handle that?" He was shouting now.

Violet nodded shakily. "Y-yeah." She said. "Sure..."

"Good. Why don't you start right now and get out of here?" he turned back to the computer, the light from the screen reflected on his glasses.

Violet ran out of the room and didn't stop until she was back in the kitchen. She covered her face with her hands, her face creased with worry.

What was wrong with Klaus?

* * *

- translated from Sunny-speak


	4. Lloyd

**Disclaimer**: **Mad Magazine** owns the paragraph demonstrating how Olaf's plan is dumb (although I edited it). It also owns Sunny's thoughts during the carpet-tennis ball thing. **Lemony Sincket** (aka Daniel Handler) owns the Baudelaires, the Quagmires, Olaf and his gang, Mr. Poe, and all the other SOUE characters. My source for the rum description was _Pirates!_ By **Celia Rees**. **Stephan King and Stanley Kubric** own the plot. **I **just do the rewriting, editing, and incorporating.

The Horrible Hotel

**4**

_Room 237 and Lloyd_

**Thursday **

Violet and Sunny were playing outside in the snow. It was really beautiful. They were in the middle of a blizzard, and snow was everywhere. Of course it was very cold and neither of the two girls could feel their faces or cheeks.

Sunny was busy making a snowman, and Violet a snow angel. But as she lay in the snow, she began thinking. What was wrong with Klaus? He was angry and moody and… un-Klaus-ish. Was the silence and solitude of the place getting to him? Oh, if only Count Olaf wasn't after them.

His plan didn't make sense, anyway. Ever since he first tried to steal the Baudelaires' inheritance, he definitely wasn't included in their parents' will – and certainly being related to the Baudelaires didn't entitle him to anything. Plus, after all the terrible, illegal things he did, he was a wanted criminal. There was no way a wanted man would be awarded any part of their fortune.

Oh well, maybe he had some other plan.

By now, several glittering snowflakes had fallen on her, and she was numb. Alarmed, she sat up, and looked for Sunny. They had been outside too long, and had to go inside immediately. Sunny was just finishing her snowman. She was blue, and Violet guessed she was too.

"Sunny, we have to get inside, c'mon." They walked back to the hotel.

They did not see Klaus looking at them from an upstairs window.

**Saturday**

The snowstorm had gotten worse. It had taken out the phone lines. Violet was now attempting to contact the U.S. Fire Service through the radio. She got them.

"Um hi, this is the caretaker at the _Overlook Hotel_, and the phone lines are down."

"Oh, hi." said a gravelly voice. "Yeah, most of the time the phone lines are down until the spring. This is one of the worst snowstorms we've had for a while."

"Oh dear." Violet said, biting her lower lip.

"Don't worry, you can use the radio to contact us if need be."

"Ok, thanks. Bye." She hung up, then looked around at the little room. The radio was in the manager's office, a fact she was unhappy about since the manager had very poor decor taste (not to mention the used Playboy magazines lying about). She sighed and walked out.

"Well, at least we can call for help if need be." She stopped suddenly and looked around her. "Wow, that was ominous." she said. After all, though she wasn't a superstitious person, even she didn't like to test fate.

**XOXO**

Meanwhile, Sunny was wheeling around on her tray thingy. She was exploring the corridors. Suddenly she wheeled around a corner and… there they were.

The girls in the blue dresses. Side by side, the stood in the hallway, staring at Sunny. Sunny's heart started thumping in her chest.

Then they spoke. In unison. They're voices sounded like girlish tones turned to metal.

"Hello Sunny. Come play with us. Come play with us Sunny." And then Sunny saw the images. Two dead mutilated corpses in a blood spattered hallway, and a huge axe next to them.

Then the girls in the hallway. Were they getting closer?

"Forever…" She saw the blood-spattered hallway again.

"And ever… and ever…"

Sunny shut her eyes and covered them with her hands. She remained that way for a while.

Silence. Finally, she removed her hands. The hallway was empty. More silence.

She turned her cart around and began wheeling away as fast as she could.

**Monday **

Sunny and Violet were watching _Labyrinth_ on TV in their hotel room. Sunny wanted to get her chew-toy from the bedroom.

Violet gave her a worried look. "I guess so, but be careful not to wake Klaus up. He hasn't been able to get any sleep recently."

"I'll be careful," said Sunny, and she tiptoed into the bedroom.

However, Klaus was not asleep. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring off into space. He was a mess. If he were an adult he would have stubble. But he just looked like a messy kid in a white hotel robe.

He looked over at Sunny, and gestured for her to come over. Nervously, she sat on the bed next to her brother.

"How are you, Sunny? Feeling ok? Having fun?" Klaus asked softly.

"Yes."

"Good."

"Klaus?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you feel bad?"

Klaus looked at her.

"Do I feel bad? No, seem a bit tired."

"Why don't you go to sleep?"

Klaus sighed.

"I can't. I have too much to do."

"Klaus?"

"Yes."

"Do you like this hotel?"

"Yes, I do. I love it. Don't you?"

"I guess so." Sunny picked up her chew-toy and began to chew it.

"Good." Said Klaus, in a deciding sort of tone. "I want you to like it here. I wish we could stay here forever, and ever, and ever."

Sunny stopped chewing and looked up at her brother, a chill running down her spine.

"Klaus?"

"What?"

"You would never hurt Violet or me, would you?"

Klaus looked at her, and Sunny became even more frightened at the look on his face.

"What do you mean? Did Violet say that to you? That I would hurt you?" his voice had taken on an edge.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I love you, Sunny. You're my sister. We've been through a lot together. I would never

do anything to hurt you, never. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes, Klaus."

"Good."

**Wednesday**

Sunny was sitting down on the carpet and chewing a toy, thinking. If only she and her siblings could figure out what the Quagmire twins had found out in the library at their old school!

_Oh, it's no use!_ She thought sadly. _We could never duplicate their research! We're only the three smartest grade-schoolers in the world - we could never find the same facts about our own family that two total strangers were able to discover after a _**whole afternoon**_ in the library!_

Just then her train of thought got derailed as a tennis ball rolled into her shoe. She looked up. There was no one there.

"Violet?" she called. No answer. A thread of fear crept into her tone as she called again, "Hello?"

She got up and walked down the hallway. There was a door standing open, the hotel key in the lock. She looked at the number. It was room 237. She took a step forwards…

**XOXO**

Violet was in the utilities room checking gauges and wondering how exactly how the machine worked when she heard yelps and moans from upstairs. She dashed out of the room for the noise, heart racing. It was coming from where Klaus was working. Oh my god, what had happened? She _knew_ she shouldn't have been saying ominous things!

She burst through the door to the lobby. Klaus had fallen off of his chair onto the floor. He was asleep, and apparently having a bad dream. His glasses had fallen onto the floor. He was yelling and thrashing. She rushed over and shook him.

"Klaus! Klaus! Wake up!"

Klaus woke up, gasping.

"Violet!" he said, relieved.

"You were having a bad dream." Violet explained.

"I'll say! It was the most horrible dream I ever had!" Klaus gulped. He was sweating. "I had a dream… that I killed you and Sunny. Not only that but I cut you up into little pieces. I'm losing my mind!"

Violet hugged her brother, biting her lower lip again. She could see the sorrow and pain in Klaus' eyes.

"Don't worry, Klaus. It'll be ok. It'll be ok."

Over Klaus' shoulder she saw Sunny walking into the room. She had her thumb in her mouth, and was staring at her and Klaus.

_Sunny shouldn't see Klaus like this, _Violet thought.

"Sunny, go to our room and watch TV or something." Klaus turned around and squinted at Sunny and groped for his glasses.

Sunny began to move towards them.

"Sunny, didn't you hear me? Klaus just had a bad dream. It's ok. Go watch TV."

But Sunny kept walking towards them like a sleepwalker, so Violet got up and walked to Sunny.

"Sunny-" But then she saw the scratch marks on her shoulder.

"Sunny!" She looked at Sunny, horrified. She had bruises on her neck and arms, too.

Who could have done this? The only other person in the hotel was-

She turned and looked at Klaus, horrified and angry.

"_You!_ You did this to him!" she shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at Klaus.

Klaus looked bewildered, shaking his head. He had finally gotten his glasses back on.

"You did this! Didn't you? How could you? _How could you?_" And with that, she picked up Sunny (who still had her thumb in her mouth), and ran out of the room.

"No." whispered Klaus. "No!" he sat there, staring at the door where Violet used to be. Then his eyes narrowed, and he got up.

He walked down the hallway into The Gold Room, shaking with anger. The sat down at the empty bar, and slammed his fist angrily on the counter. How dare Violet accuse him of harming his own sister? He could never hurt her.

He buried his face in his hands. He was all alone. There was no one left he could trust. He rubbed his face and opened his eyes.

0-0

In front of him was a man. He was pale with thinning hair, gray eyes, and a red waistcoat.

He had on an eerie smile. Behind him the once-empty shelves were now full of different bottles filled with bourbon and brandy and other stuff Klaus didn't recognize. The man looked at Klaus, smiling.

Klaus stared back.

"Hello." said Klaus. "Slow night?" he laughed. The man's smile didn't change. He didn't move.

"Yes it is, Mr. Baudelaire. What'll it be?" said the bartender politely. He had a deep, musical voice.

Klaus remembered that his parents used to drink bourbon whenever they went to a bar, and people in television asked for drinks "on the rocks," so he decided that would be the best place to start. Then again, Rum sounded tastier since it was made from sugar. And they drank it in _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Maybe a compromise.

"I'll have rum on the rocks." Klaus replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose. They had slipped down. The bartender nodded and poured some golden brown-colored liquid into a glass of ice and put it on the bar in front of Klaus.

Klaus raised his glass, smiling unpleasantly.

"To you-" Klaus looked at the man's name tag, "Lloyd. Best bartender from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine - or Portland, Oregon for that matter." He took a gulp of the weird brown stuff. It was spicy and sweet, rather fiery on his tongue, and warm on his stomach. Not at all unpleasant, although he didn't like the ice. For a moment, the thought passed his mind that he shouldn't be drinking alcohol. But he brushed the thought aside.

"Thank you, sir." said Lloyd.

Klaus nodded and drank some more rum. It was really quite good.

"How are things going, Mr. Baudelaire?" asked the bartender.

Klaus glared darkly at the mirror behind the bar. "Things could be better, Lloyd. Things could be a whole lot better."

"I hope it's nothing serious, sir."

Klaus looked up at the man. He still had on that same exact smile. Klaus wasn't really creeped out by it, though. Everything had a warm tint to it now.

"No. Nothing serious." He tapped for more rum. "Just sibling problems."

Lloyd smiled. "Women," he said, "can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."

"Words of wisdom, Lloyd. Words of wisdom." said Klaus, knocking back another glass of rum. He stared angrily at the mirror.

"I never laid a hand on her! I didn't! How could Violet even think such a thing! I love Sunny. She's my sister! I'd do anything for her. Anything. _Have_ done, in fact." Klaus swayed on his seat. His glasses had slipped down his nose again.

Just then, Violet came running into the room carrying a baseball bat. Klaus was sitting at the empty bar, staring vacantly at the mirror behind the bar.

"Klaus!" she shrieked. He didn't move. "Klaus!"

He slowly turned around. Violet ran up to him, a terrified look in her eyes.

"Klaus! There's someone else in the hotel with us. There's a crazy woman in one of the rooms. She tried to strangle Sunny!" she was hysterical, he voice high and fast. Klaus, on the other hand, was slow. He stared at her. At last he said, "Are you out of your mind?"

"No, it's the truth, really! I swear it, Sunny told me! She went up into one of the bedrooms. The door was open and she saw this crazy woman in the bathtub. She tried to strangle her!" Violet was gripping the bat so tightly her knuckles were white.

Klaus sighed. "What do you want me to do? Look for this woman or something?"

Violet nodded frantically. "Yes!"

Klaus sighed again. "Which room was it?"


	5. Lady In The Bathtub

The Horrible Hotel

**5**

_Sending For Help And The Party_

Quigley was at his apartment, sitting on his bed, watching the news on TV. The newscaster was making a report on a blizzard that was affecting the Overlook Hotel – a blizzard that would probably snow the place in.

Quigley's mouth dropped open and his eyes rolled back into his head before closing. He was getting a vision – an SOS from the Overlook Hotel.

_The door to room 237 standing open; a red hotel key in the lock. Sunny shaking and drooling uncontrollably, her eyes blank in a trance. A view inside room 237._

Quigley's eyes snapped open.

"I've got to get over there!" he exclaimed, a leapt out of bed for his coat.

**XOXO**

Klaus sighed. He was standing in front of the door to room 237, which was open. The place looked harmless enough; the usual ugly carpet and tasteless couches all hotels had. The door to the bathroom was ajar. He walked towards it nonchalantly; certain there was nothing to worry about.

When he pushed open the door, the room was damp, as if someone had been taking a shower. A pool of water was on the floor, getting his shoes wet. The shower curtain was pulled over the bathtub, but Klaus could see a dark outline behind it.

He walked cautiously forward.

"Hello?" he asked, uncertainly. His shoes made plopping noises in the water.

A hand reached out of a side of the curtain and drew it aside. Standing there, in a bath full of water, was a woman in a black evening gown. She was soaked through, and her hair hung lankly around her face and shoulders.

"Uh-" said Klaus, understandably at a loss for words.

"You like books." She said in a wet voice.

Klaus stared at her, eyebrows raised in shock. "Well I – well yeah, I do-"

She reached down into the bathwater and pulled something out. Then she stepped out of the bathtub and walked over to him. He did not step back. She smiled at him with shiny black eyes that reminded him uncomfortably of Count Olaf. She extended her arm, offering him the object she had taken from the tub.

It was a book, Klaus saw. It was a paperback, with a matte finish. It was thick, but not War-and-Peace-thick, with soft-looking pages. His favorite type. The strange thing was that it was completely dry. It called to him, sang to him. She smiled at him.

"Don't you want to read it?" she asked, her hoarse but wet voice sounding strange to his ears.

Cautiously he moved forward to take the book. As he did so however, he happened to look in the mirror behind her. The mirror had been fogged before, but now it was devastatingly clear.

In the reflection he saw that the woman was not a woman at all (or at least not how she had looked). He saw what she truly looked like, and was horrified.

Her dress hung on a skeleton-like frame, and the skin she had left was rotting away in disgusting patches. Her hair had all but fallen out, and he could see her skull in places where he scalp had fallen off.

When he looked at her again, he saw she had become her reflection. Her skin had melted into wrinkles, and one eye was gone. Her bare skin (what was left of it) was covered in liver spots. The book she was holding had become nothing but a rotting black apple with a few worms poking out.

She laughed manically, the wetness replaced with a horrible scratchiness, reaching out with putrid, decaying hands. The apple fell to the floor with a sickening splat. She began to hobble forward.

Klaus yelled and ran out the door, tripping on the living room carpet. He quickly got up and ran out of the door, still followed by the laughing corpse. He locked the door, hands trembling, and ran for him room, wicked laughter echoing in his ears.

**XOXO**

Violet was nervously biting her nails on the couch when Klaus came into the room. She immediately got up and faced him, her eyes wide with worry.

"Well? Did you see anything?" she asked fearfully.

Klaus shook his head, not looking at her. "Nope. Not one thing."

"Are you sure you went to room 237? The room Sunny said?"

"Yes, and there was nothing there. How is Sunny?"

"She's fine, she's sleeping."

"Good. She'll probably be herself by morning." Klaus plopped on the sofa, looking exhausted.

Violet didn't look convinced. "Well, are you sure it was the right room? I mean, maybe Sunny made a mistake?"

"She must have gone in that room. The door was open, the lights were on." He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Oh, I just don't understand it." Violet said, biting her nails again. "What about those bruises on her neck? Somebody did that to her."

"I think she did it to herself." said Klaus evenly.

"No, that's not possible! How could you think that?" Violet exclaimed, looking at Klaus with wide eyes.

"Violet, once you rule out her version of what happened, there is no other explanation, is there? It wouldn't be that different from the episode that she had before we came up here, would it?"

**XOXO**

Sunny was not asleep. She was listening to her siblings talking in the other room.

She could not believe Klaus was lying! For she had seen with her "shine" ability all that he had seen in room 237. She began to tremble and drool as more visions came to her.

_REDRUM scribbled on a door in red._

**XOXO**

"Whatever the explanation is, I think we have to get Sunny out of here." Violet said, glancing towards the closed bedroom door.

"Get her out of here?" asked Klaus, an edge in his voice.

"Yes."

"You mean just leave the hotel."

"Yes."

**XOXO**

_The elevator lobby. Blood begins to pour through the elevator doors, more and more, sweeping along the hallways, until the furniture is swept away… _

**XOXO**

Klaus exploded. "Violet, this is SO TYPICAL of you! Just when we have a chance at an Olaf-free life, have to go screw it up! Do you WANT to be caught by Olaf? IS THAT IT?"

Violet cringed from her screaming brother. "Klaus-"

"I've let you screw up my life so far, but I'm not letting you screw this up!" he shouted, then stormed out of the hotel room, slamming the door.

Violet began to sob on the floor. How could her brother say such things? Her little brother had never screamed at her before. Or used bad language. Or blamed her for their recent series of unfortunate events.

She buried her face in her hands, still crying.

**XOXO **

The visions faded. Sunny closed her eyes and went to sleep.

**XOXO**

Klaus stomped down the stairs and into the corridor. He suddenly stopped. There were steamers and confetti in the hallway.

_What?_ Was this some sort of trick Violet was playing on him?

In the distance he could hear 20's dance music. He walked towards the sound into the Gold Room.

The room was full of people in lavish masquerade costumes, including beautiful masks of every kind. Some people were dancing, but most were just talking and laughing and drinking. The room itself was decorated with plenty of streamers, balloons, and confetti (all gold of course).

The bar was once again mysteriously stocked, and Lloyd the bartender was back as well, cleaning a glass with a rag. Klaus walked over to him.

"Good evening Mr. Baudelaire." the bartender said.

Klaus smiled and sat down, forgetting his anger for a while. "Hi, Lloyd. I'm back."

"It's good to see you Mr. Baudelaire." said the bartender with his usual small, creepy smile.

"It's good to be back, Lloyd."

"What'll it be, sir?"

"Same."

"Rum on the rocks?"

"Uh, skip the rocks."

Lloyd poured the drink at set it in front of Klaus. Klaus started to pull out his wallet, but the bartender stopped him.

"No charge to you, Mr. Baudelaire." Lloyd said.

Klaus looked up incredulously. "No charge?" he asked.

"Your money is no good here. Orders from the house."

"'Orders from the house?'"

"Drink up, Mr. Baudelaire." Lloyd said simply, never dropping his strange smile.

Klaus was a little bit irritated. "I would like to know who's buying my drinks, Lloyd." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"It's not a matter that concerns you, Mr. Baudelaire. At least not at this point."

Klaus sighed and took a gulp of his drink. "Anything you say, Lloyd. Anything you say." Then he got up, rum in hand, and began to walk among the guests.

He admired the costumes and masks and was just about to ask a lady with an owl-faced mask and feathery cape where she had gotten her costume, when a waiter suddenly smacked into him, spilling red sauce all over Klaus' shirt.

"Hey!" shouted Klaus.

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry sir," said the waiter with a British accent, "Here, let me help you clean that off." With that, he began to lead Klaus to the bathroom.

The bathroom had bright red walls that contrasted with the bright white sinks and floor. The waiter wet a few towels and began to wipe the sauce off of Klaus's shirt. As he was doing so, Klaus frowned at him. He looked familiar.

"Who are you?" he asked the man.

"My name is Charles Grady, sir." said the waiter.

Klaus's eyes widened. His glasses slipped down his nose in shock. He stared at the man, dumbfounded and a little creeped out as he continued to wipe off the sauce.

"Ch-Charles Grady?" he asked.

"Yes sir."

Klaus continued to stare at him. Charles Grady was the name of his predecessor. The one who went crazy and killed his family.

"Uh…" said Klaus, "haven't I seen you around here?

"Why, no, sir. I don't believe so." Grady continued to wipe the shirt. "It's coming off now, sir."

Klaus was still staring at the man. "Mr. Grady. . .weren't you once the caretaker here?" he said, trying to hint at what he knew about the man.

"Why, no, sir. l don't believe so." said the man, looking at Klaus curiously.

Klaus thought for a moment about how to phrase this. "You a married man, are you, Mr. Grady?"

"Yes, sir. I have a wife and two daughters."

"And. . .where are they now?" Klaus asked carefully.

"They're somewhere around. I'm not quite sure at the moment."

"You were the caretaker here." Klaus said finally. "I recognize you. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You..." he swallowed. "You chopped your wife and daughter up into little bits. And then you blew your brains out." He waited for the man's reaction.

Grady stared at Klaus as if he had just stated that the man was his sister. "That's strange, sir." He said. "I don't have any recollection of that at all."

"Mr. Grady . . ." Klaus said, more forcefully, "You _were_ the caretaker here."

"I'm sorry to defer with you, sir. But _you_ are the caretaker. You've _always_ been the caretaker. I should know, sir. I've always been here." He paused a moment as Klaus let this sink in. "Did you know, Mr. Baudelaire," Grady said, "that your sister Sunny is attempting to bring an outside party into this situation? Did you know that?"

"No."

"She is, Mr. Baudelaire. "

"Who?"

"Your friend Quigley the cook."

"How?"

"Your sister has a very great talent. I don't think you are aware how great it is. That she is attempting to use that very talent against your will."

"She is a very willful girl."

"Indeed she is, Mr. Baudelaire. A very willful girl. A rather naughty girl, if I may be so bold, sir."

"It's her sister. She, uh, interferes."

"Perhaps they need a good talking to, if you don't mind my saying so. Perhaps a bit more. My girls, sir, they didn't care for the Overlook at first. One of them actually stole a pack of matches, and tried to burn it down. But I _corrected_ them sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I _corrected_ her." Grady smiled.


	6. Quigley To The Rescue

The Horrible Hotel

**6**

_Violet and Quigley Plan_

Quigley picked up the phone, dialed some numbers, and waited. After all, he really should check before flying up there.

"I'm sorry, but your call cannot be completed as dialed."

Quigley tried again.

"I'm sorry-" Quigley hung up, worried even more. He tried again, this time a different number.

The phone picked up. "Good evening. Forest Service."

"Hello, I'm Derek Forrest, the head chef at the Overlook Hotel."

"Good evening, Mr. Forrest. What can I do for you?"

"Well I've been trying to make an extremely urgent phone call up there but I can't seem to get through!" Quigley began pace back and forth, listening to the creaking of his floor.

The forest ranger sighed. "Yeah, I'm afraid a lot of lines are down around here due to the storm." He said.

Quigley sat down. "Well would you mind giving them a call on your radio? Just to see if they're ok?" he began to bite his nails.

"I'd be glad to do that sir. Why don't you call back in about twenty minutes or so?"

"Thank you very much! I'll do that."

"Goodbye."

Quigley hung up, only slightly relieved. He prayed that Violet and Sunny and Klaus were ok.

Especially Violet.

**XOXO**

Meanwhile, Violet was also pacing back and forth in her bedroom, muttering to herself and crying slightly.

"We have the Snowcat. If the weather breaks, we might just be able to get down the mountain in that." She said, hands trembling.

She walked into the living room.

"I could call the Forest Rangers first and then tell them that we're coming so that they could start searching for us, in case we didn't make it." She walked back into the bedroom.

"If Klaus won't come with us, we'll just have to tell him that we are going by ourselves. That's all there is to it."

She stopped and bit her bottom lip. What was happening to Klaus?

"Red rum. Red rum. Red rum."

Violet turned around. The croaking voice was coming from Sunny's room! She ran out of her own room into Sunny's.

"Sunny?" she asked.

"Red rum. Red rum. Red rum." Sunny repeated, over and over, in that creepy croaky monotone. She was sitting upright in bed, staring blankly out.

Violet came over and sat next to her. "Sunny! Sunny wake up! What's the matter?"

"Red rum. Red rum." Sunny simply repeated.

"Sunny? Sunny?" Violet whispered, running her hands through Sunny's hair. "Sunny, what's wrong?"

Sunny turned to look at Violet.

"Sunny's not here, Miss Baudelaire." She croaked.

Violet closed her eyes, tears running down her face. "C'mon Sunny wake up! You're just having a bad dream… wake up…"

"Sunny can't wake up, Miss Baudelaire." Sunny croaked once more.

"Sunny, wake up! Wake up right now!" sobbed Violet. This couldn't be happening! It couldn't! First Klaus, now Sunny.

"Sunny's gone away Miss Baudelaire." Sunny said.

Violet embraced Sunny, rocking back an forth. "Sunny… wake up…"

**XOXO**

Klaus walked past the reception desk into the office and switched on the lights. The little radio in the corner was squawking. Someone was trying to contact them. The Forest Service most likely.

"KDK 1 calling KDK 12. KDK 1 calling KDK 12. Do you read me?"

Klaus walked over to the box.

"KDK 1 calling KDK 12. KDK 1 calling KDK 12. Are you receiving me?"

Klaus tried to jimmy the cover off. Didn't work. He turned the thing over.

"KDK 1 calling KDK 12. KDK 1 calling KDK 12. Do you read me?"

Klaus unscrewed the back and took off the cover. Now he could see all the little gadgets inside. He touched one of the components.

"KDK 1 calling KDK 12. KDK 1 calling KDK 12."

He ripped it out.

"KDK-" the radio went silent. Klaus ripped out a few other parts as well, before putting them in his pocket and walking calmly out of the office.

**XOXO**

Quigley picked up the phone again and dialed the rangers. It picked up after a few rings.

"Good evening. Forest Service."

"Hi this is Derek Forrest again. I called about the Overlook Hotel?"

"Oh yeah. We tried to contact them several times by radio, but they never picked up."

Quigley's heart sank. The ranger continued, "Now, maybe they've got their radio turned off or they're in a place where they can't hear it. If you like me to, I'd be glad to try them again later on."

"Thank you. That's be great." Quigley said faintly. "I'll call you back later. Good night."

"Good night."

Quigley hung up the phone.

**8:00 am**

Quigley was sitting on a plane, exhausted and worried. What on earth was happening over there in that hotel? Obviously nothing good. He shouldn't have left; he should've found some way to stay! What was happening to the siblings? Had Count Olaf found them?

That was wishful thinking. If it was something as earth-bound as villains, he would not worry as much. It was the hotel that had him worried. After all, the images Sunny had sent him...

He sighed and called a stewardess over.

"Excuse me miss, when will we arrive?"

"8:20, sir." She replied.

"Thanks." He said, looking at his watch.

**XOXO**

Klaus typed feverishly at his keyboard, writing his book. Books could be fun to write as well as read.

**XOXO**

Quigley sighed as he leaned up against the phone booth. The other side was ringing. Finally it picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Joe! It's me, Quigley."

"Oh hey Quig! Wussup?"

"I just flew in. I need a Snocat to get up to the Overlook Hotel. Got anything?"

"Overlook Hotel? Why do you need to get there, and in this godforsaken weather?" asked Joe.

"Well, between you and me, the caretakers have turned out to be completely unreliable. Real a-holes. I need to go up there to see if they need replacing."

Joe chuckled. "How far away from here are you?" he asked.

"About five hours. I'm going to rent a car." Quigley replied.

"Ok. I'll have one ready for you when you get here."

"Thanks Joe. I owe you one."

"Sure. Drive carefully." Joe hung up.

**XOXO**

Quigley was driving down the highway, snow hitting his windshield, listening to the radio.

"…bad day out there. Heavy snow throughout the entire metro area. Many mountain passes such as Wolf Creek are already closed. The national weather service has declared a stopmans and travelers advisory... for all areas outlying the metro region - get the cows in the barn."

**XOXO**

Violet and Sunny sat in the living room watching cartoons on TV. Violet sighed and stood up.

"Sunny." She said, and Sunny looked at her.

"I'm going to talk to Klaus for a while. You stay here and watch your cartoons, ok?"

"Yes, Miss Baudelaire." She croaked.

Violet gave her sister a teary hug. Sunny turned her head back to watch her cartoons.

Violet walked towards the door, stopping to pick up a baseball bat. Then she left, with a final look at Sunny, blankly watching cartoons, before closing the door behind her.


	7. All Work And No Play

The Horrible Hotel

**7**

_Klaus's Book_

Violet walked into the main room where Klaus stayed most of the time, working on his book in secret.

"Klaus…?" she called, keeping the bat up. She walked further in.

He wasn't sitting at his desk. The typewriter he had been using was sitting, paper half typed on, in the machine. A box of what he had already typed lay next to it. Curious, she walked forward to read the typewriter. What she saw made goose bumps appear all over her arms and her blood run cold.

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work a**

The same sentence repeated over and over. Could this be what he had typing all this time…?

Frantically she grabbed the stack of paper Klaus had typed over the past months, hoping, _praying_ that she wouldn't see…

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

She turned the page. And another. Another. Another!

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

**All work and no play makes Klaus a dull boy.**

Pages flew everywhere as she became more and more desperate, but all she found was more of that same line…

"Do you like it?"

Violet screamed and whipped around, her heart beating like a jackhammer. Klaus was there, staring at her with hollow eyes, a creepy smile spreading across his face.

"Klaus!" she cried.

"Do you like it?" he repeated. He began to move toward her. Violet began to move away, bumped into the desk, then moved along it towards the entrance to the hallway, holding the bat in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" asked Klaus, glasses glinting in the lamplight. He stopped by a chair.

"I… I just wanted…to talk to you." She wiped some cold sweat off her forehead and tried to calm her heart. It wasn't working.

"Ok. Let's talk." Klaus said. He picked up a few of the papers still in the box, looked at them, then dropped them and looked back at Violet. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I…" said the terrified Violet, "I can't really remember!"

"You can't remember."

Violet began to move to the left, circling around to the stair, still facing Klaus with the bat. He followed her gaze.

**XOXO**

Sunny was sitting at the table in their apartment when she began to Shine…

**XOXO**

"Maybe it was about Sunny." Klaus suggested. "Maybe it was about her."

**XOXO**

Furniture in the lobby floating on a river of blood… 

**XOXO**

"I think we should discuss Sunny."

**XOXO**

REDRUM on a door… 

**XOXO**

"I think should discuss what should be done with her." Klaus moved forward, "What do you think should be done with her?"

Violet gave a nervous little laugh as she began to move backwards.

"I… I don't know."

Klaus began to move to the right, backing Violet towards the stairs. Violet could swear he had gotten taller.

"I don't think that's true." Klaus said in a sing-song voice. "I think you have some very definite ideas about what should be done with Sunny... and I'd like to know what they are." The smile was gone now. He stared at her as they continued to move towards the stairs.

Violet began to cry, tears streaming down her face.

"I… I think maybe she should be taken to a doctor." She said.

"You think _maybe_ she should be taken to a doctor?" He asked.

"Yes!" she sobbed, still backing slowly up.

"When do you think _maybe_ she should be taken to a doctor?" he asked sarcastically, her eyes narrowing.

"As soon as possible!" she cried.

"As soon as possible." Klaus repeated.

"Klaus…" sobbed Violet, the bat wobbling with her shakes, "please."

"You believe her health might be at stake?" he spat.

"Y- yes!" she said, her vision becoming blurry with tears. Her hands were trembling now.

"Are you concerned about her?" Klaus raised an eyebrow.

Violet gulped. "Yes."

"Are you concerned about me?"

Violet began to go just a bit quicker backwards. "Of course I am."

"Of course you are." Klaus repeated mockingly. He stopped and sighed. Then he suddenly turned and glared at her. "Have you ever thought about _my_ responsibilities?" he demanded.

"What are you talking about Klaus?" cried Violet.

"Have you ever had a _single_ moment's thought about _my_ responsibilities?" he shouted, waving his hands. "Have you ever thought for a _single, _solitary momentabout my _responsibilities_ to my employers?" he said, his voice rising and his face becoming red with anger. Violet shook her head, tears falling, sobbing as she continued to walk backwards. What on earth was he talking about? Was he mad?

Klaus continued his mad tirade, shouting at the top of his lungs now, his glasses slipping down his nose.

"Has it _ever_ occurred to you that I have agreed to look after the Overlook Hotel until May the first? Does it matter to you at _all_ that the owners have placed their complete confidence and trust in me, and that I have signed a letter of agreement, a contract, in which I have accepted that responsibility?" he was shaking with anger.

"Klaus…" she sobbed. What was happening? This was a bad dream, she knew it was. This sort of thing didn't happen in reality, did it? Brothers you've loved your whole life flipping their lid? Sisters having multiple personality disorder?

"Do you have the _slightest_ idea what a moral and ethical principal is? _Do you?_"

Violet bumped into the stairs and climbed up the first step as Klaus came towards her, red with rage. She had never, in all her life, seen him like this. It was this hotel. It was doing this to him. This wasn't Klaus.

Klaus went up the stairs faster, and Violet went backwards up more steps.

"_Do you?_" he screamed.

"Stay away from me!" shouted Violet, swinging the bat in front of Klaus. She tightened her grip on the bat. _This wasn't Klaus!_

"Why?" asked Klaus, no longer shouting. They continued up the stairs, but slow again.

"Just let me go back to my room!" she cried.

"Why?" he repeated.

She sniffed and wiped her cheeks. "Well… I'm very confused and I need a chance to think things over."

Klaus widened his eyes. "You've had you whole life to think things over!" he shouted. "What good's a few more minutes now?!?" his hands were tightened into fists.

"Klaus, stay away from me… please."

Klaus reached for her. Violet's eyes widened and she waved the bat.

"Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!" she screamed.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said evenly. "Give me the bat." He held out his hand.

She swung the bat and continued up the stairs.

"Get away from me!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Dearest sister, you didn't let me finish my sentence. I said, "I'm not going to hurt you… I'm going to _bash your brains in!_'" he laughed and took a step up again.

Violet waved the bat again, eyes wide with terror. Klaus laughed, a broad grin on his face.

"Stay away from me!" she shrieked. She waved the bat again.

"Stop swinging the bat." He said.

"Stay away from me!"

"Put the bat down, Violet."

"STOP IT!"

"Violet, give me the bat."

"Stay away from me!" She swung again, this time harder. When he ducked, he nearly lost his balance.

"Stop swinging the bat!" he shouted angrily.

"Get down!"

"Violet, give me the bat." He was calm again, but only in voice. His glasses had slipped once again.

"Go away!"

"Stop swinging."

"_Leave me alone!_"

"Give me the bat!" Klaus reached up for it. Violet gave a battle cry and whacked his hand with the bat with all of her might. It hit with a satisfying crunch.

"AHH!" he screamed, clutching his hand. Violet whacked his again, this time on the head.

Klaus stumbled and fell down the stairs, rolling over and over before coming to a stop at the bottom. His glasses almost fell off, they were now broken and askew.

Violet clamped a hand to her mouth. What had she done to her brother?

She ran down to the stairs. To her relief, he was still breathing. Her relief ended quickly. She had to put him somewhere. Where?

**XOXO**

Klaus awoke, his head throbbing. The world was blurry because his glasses were dangling off one ear and wiggling because his head hurt so much. He soon realized he was being dragged across the floor. It looked like he was in the kitchen.

"Uhhh." He said, weakly flailing his arms. He couldn't even get them off the floor. He saw that it was Violet dragging him, by his feet.

She dropped him, opened the door to the storage closet full of boxed food that Quigley had shown the earlier, then picked Klaus up again and began to drag him inside.

"Wh… what are you doing?" he mumbled. She dropped him, then went past him out the door. He grabbed feebly at her, but to no avail.

"Wait a minute…"

Once out of the storage room, she closed the door and locked it. Then she backed away.

Klaus sat up and grabbed his ankle, grimacing in pain. He had twisted it falling down the stairs.

"Hey!" he shouted at the door. "Come back!"

Violet looked around for a second, before grabbing a knife off a rack on the wall. She looked sadly at the door.

"Violet!" Klaus shouted, "Open the damn door!"

She slowly sank to her knees, and began to cry.

"Violet… just open the door and I'll forget everything. Everything can go back to normal."

Violet continued to cry, burying her face in her hands. He could sound so much like the real Klaus!

"Violet…" Klaus put his hand to his head. "You hit me really hard. I think I need to see a doctor. Please don't leave me in here."

Violet stopped crying and stood up. She couldn't lose sight of the fact that he WASN'T her Klaus. She couldn't be taken in. For Sunny's sake.

"I'm going to leave now." she said. "I'm going to try and get Sunny down to the town below using the Snocat." She sobbed. "I… I'll bring a doctor."

"Violet…" he said desperately.

"I'm leaving now." She said.

"Violet…"

"Yes?"

Klaus grinned and laughed. The laugh sent chills down Violet's spine.

"You got a big surprise coming, Violet." He said, his voice turning back into the new Klaus. He laughed again. "You're not going anywhere." He chuckled and Violet's heart began to thud with fear again. "Go check the radio and Snocat and you'll see what I mean." He gave another laugh, loud and maniacal.

Violet ran out of the room, Klaus's words ringing after her, "Go check it out! Go check it out!"

She burst through the kitchen's door to the outside, forcing it open through the snow. Knife still in hand, she ran for the shed in which the Snocat was kept.

She yanked open the doors and looked with despair at the Snocat. The hood was up, and several important-looking wires and caps had been yanked out and thrown on the cold ground.


	8. REDRUM

The Horrible Hotel

**8**

_REDRUM_

**4 p.m.**

Klaus was asleep on some sacks, his cracked glasses next to him on the floor, when he heard a knock on the storage closet door. He sat up and blinked his eyes.

"Violet?" he croaked hopefully.

"No. It's Grady. Charles Grady." said a British voice on the other side of the door.

"Grady… oh." Klaus said, rubbing his forehead. He stood up, grabbing his glasses, and moved in front of the door.

"Mr. Baudelaire, I see you can hardly have taken care of the… business we discussed." Grady said.

"Don't rub it in." Klaus growled. "I intend to take care of it as soon as I get out of here."

"Will you indeed, Mr. Baudelaire? I have my doubts. I and others have come to believe that your heart is not in this, that you haven't the _belly_ for it."

Klaus's neck muscles tightened. "Just give me one more chance to prove it, Mr. Grady. It's all I ask." Klaus said, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Your sister appears to be stronger than we imagined, Mr. Baudelaire, somewhat more… resourceful. She seems to have got the better of you." Grady seemed amused.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at this, but controlled his anger. "For the moment, Mr. Grady, only for the moment." He said.

"I fear you will have to deal with this matter in the harshest possible way, Mr. Baudelaire. I fear that is the only thing to do."

Klaus smiled and put on his broken glasses. "There's nothing I look forward to with greater pleasure, Mr. Grady."

"You give your word on that view, Mr. Baudelaire?"

"I give you my word."

There was a moment of silence as Grady considered this. Then Klaus heard the sound of the lock clicking open and the door handle began to turn…

**XOXO**

Quigley stared silently out of his Snocat's window, listening to his gently crackling radio, the heavy snow falling against the car, and the scary silence that only comes from driving all alone on a snowy road at night with no one around for miles.

He sighed and pressed a little harder on the pedal. He was very worried. What the heck was going on up there?

He only hoped he got there before it was too late…

**XOXO**

Sunny walked into Violet's bedroom from her own, staring wide-eyed and repeating over and over, "Redrum… Redrum... Redrum… Redrum... Redrum…" in Jane's croaky voice.

Violet was asleep on the bed. At Sunny's voice she stirred, but she didn't wake up. Sunny grabbed the knife on Violet's bedside table.

"Redrum… Redrum… Redrum..." She continued to repeat the word as she felt the blade, then went over to the dressing table.

Violet had put her small amount of makeup on it – some eyeliner, pink nail polish (from when she was very little), bright red lipstick, and a nail clipper. Sunny picked up the lipstick.

"Redrum... Redrum... Redrum..."

She went towards the bathroom door. Using the lipstick and still repeating her eerie phrase, she wrote, "REDRUM" on the door, with the R's backwards. She began to chant louder as she moved towards Violet.

"Redrum... Redrum... Redrum...! Redrum…! REDRUM…!" Violet awoke with a start and gave a small shriek at the sight of a stoned-looking Sunny with a knife, chanting. She got out of bed and grabbed the knife from Sunny.

"REDRUM! REDRUM! REDRUM!" Sunny shouted, over and over.

"Sunny, stop it! Sunny, wake up!" Violet hugged Sunny tightly, trying not to cry, and looked over at the mirror across from the door. The mirror reflected Sunny's message on the door, making Violet gasp:

**MURDER  
**

_THWACK!_

Violet shrieked at the sound of an axe hitting the front door of the apartment. It was Klaus! How had he escaped?!?

She ran over to the REDRUM door and ran into the bathroom, shutting and locking it behind her.

Meanwhile, in the hallway Klaus was hitting the apartment door with as much energy as her small arms could muster (which was more than usual since madness, adrenaline and the supernatural gives unnatural strength to people).

The door began to splinter. He pulled away at the wood, not caring that he was getting splinters or that his broken glasses were barely hanging onto his face.

"VIOLET!" he screamed, an unnerving sound, hitting the door again with a horrifying _thwack,_ followed by the sound of splintering wood.

Violet dropped the knife in the sink, then unlocked the window and opened the bottom parts. It was stuck a bit. The snow was piled high, and made a little slide down to the ground.

Sunny, more herself now, looked fearfully over her shoulder at the bathroom door, listening to the sounds of the axe hitting the outer door and clinging to Violet's dress.

Klaus finally got a big enough chunk out of the door to grab the knob, unlock the bolt, and open the door.

"Honey, I'm home." He said. His glasses hung loosely off of one ear, broken beyond helpfulness.

Violet hoisted Sunny up and through the window. She slid down the snow and stood up when she reached the bottom, looking up at the window and shivering in the cold.

Klaus walked (or more limped) across the living room towards the bedroom.

Violet struggled to get out of the window. She didn't fit. Terror rushed through her.

_Oh no!_

Klaus walked through the bedroom to the bathroom door.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he shouted, his voice cracking.

Violet tried to open the window farther without much success, then tried to get out again.

Klaus knocked softly on the door.

Violet looked at Sunny through the window.

"_Sunny!"_ she hissed, _"I can't get out! Run and hide!"_ She eased herself back into the bathroom. Sunny ran to the front door, trying to open it as quietly as possible and sneak in.

"Little pigs, little pigs, let me…" said Klaus.

"Not by the hairs on my chinny-chin-chin!" shouted Violet, grabbing up the knife from the sink and staring in terror at the bathroom door.

"Then I'll blow your house in!" shouted Klaus, and began hacking at the bathroom door. Violet screamed and backed against the door. She could now see the axe head through a small sliver cut out of the door, hacking it apart.

"Klaus!" she sobbed. "Don't!"

With every _thwack_ she screamed.

"Klaus! _Stop!_"

Finally a large panel of wood fell away (about and hand's width) and Violet could see Klaus' face. His hair was messy, his glasses broken, and his eyes wild and malicious. He paused and put his glasses more securely on his face.

Then he laughed maniacally and reached his hand through the hole to unlock the door. Violet reached forward and cut it with her knife. Klaus screamed and blood spattered on the white tile floor. He withdrew the hand, getting lots of splinters on his hurt hand.

He turned away from the door, clutching his hurt hand, when he heard a sound. Violet heard it too. They froze. The sound was of a vehicle approaching.

**XOXO**

Quigley drove up to the hotel in his Snocat, shining his headlights at the doors.

"Well, here goes. I hope I'm not too late." He said, picturing Violet for a split second. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.

He got out of the car and headed for the hotel.

**XOXO**

Sunny ran through a corridor, into the kitchen and towards the oven. It was a special oven for the hotel, huge with sliding doors. She opened the door, crawled inside, and shut the door almost completely shut. Her heart beat painfully against her ribcage with terror.

**XOXO**

Klaus limped away from the door. Violet listened to him go. She sat sobbing on the floor for a few minutes.

_I can't do this. I have to find Sunny and get her out of here. Maybe whoever just drove up can help us escape!_

She wiped her tears off and got to her feet.

_I WILL not let this place have my sister or me. We're getting out of here alive._

She opened the bathroom door and walked out.


	9. The End

**SUMMARY SO FAR**

The three orphans have come to work at the Overlook Hotel in the hopes of spending five months NOT being hunted by Olaf or the police. But Sunny is seeing visions of blood and death, Klaus has gone insane and is attacking his siblings, and Violet's last nerve is fraying. Quigley has arrived at the hotel, called by Sunny's telepathic SOS. Can he save them? Will Klaus kill his sisters? Read to find out!

I have fixed up the previous chapters.

The Horrible Hotel

**9**

_The End_

Quigley looked around the familiar hotel lobby, snow melting off his coat onto the rug beneath him. He shivered. This place gave him the creeps. He would definitely have to get a new job. He walked further inside and shouted, "Hello?"

No answer. Something was wrong. He was too late! What had happened? Dang it, why hadn't he stopped them from taking this job? He knew the dangers!

"Violet? Klaus? Sunny? It's me, Quigley!" he walked a bit faster now, passing a pillar with a Native American blanket hanging on it –

Klaus leapt from behind the pillar. There was a split second when Quigley saw him – messy hair, broken glasses, bloody hand, maniacal look in his eye – and then the flash of metal, the thump.

"Klaus-?" Quigley choked, then fell over, an axe protruding from his chest.

In the kitchen, Sunny screamed.

Klaus looked up, then grinned. He stopped only to yank his axe out of Quigley's chest before running towards the sound.

**XOXO**

Sunny knew Klaus must have heard her so she opened the oven door, rolled out, and ran for the kitchen door. She barely had enough time to close it behind her before Klaus came into the kitchen.

_Where to hide, where to hide?_ She thought frantically. Then she remembered: the maze! She and Violet had explored it a while ago. Maybe she could still remember the way through?

Shivering in the snow in her thin PJs, she ran into the entrance of the hedge maze.

**XOXO**

Violet cautiously opened the broken and very splintery bathroom door, her knife in her trembling hand. Her eyes were wide and watchful, so scared she wasn't sure if she was really scared any more.

She crept out of the apartment and down the hallway, looking for Sunny. Was she in one of the rooms? Was Klaus?

She saw a flicker of movement around the corner at the other end of the hall. She ran forwards and turned into the next corridor.

Two bodies were lying in the hallway, huge gashes made by an axe covering them. Blood was everywhere. They looked like children, but Violet couldn't tell because they were so mangled. One of them blinked.

Violet screamed and ran back the way she came. She ran down many stairs, heading for the ground floor.

**XOXO**

Sunny ran along the maze, no idea what to do. She could hear Klaus following her, his footsteps crunching in the snow slightly offbeat because of his limp, shouting, "SUNNY! COME BACK! I JUST WANT TO TALK WITH YOU!" and then laughing.

The night was so cold, she could barely feel her feet within a matter of moments. It wasn't helped by the fact that she was wearing nothing but socks. Snow covered the hedges and ground. She left a clear path behind her as she ran, her little feet making large depressions in the snow. Klaus would overtake her soon; he was bigger. She needed a plan, fast. But that was Violet's job, _she_ was supposed to bite things!

She looked around. Nothing to bite that would be useful.

_Think, Sunny, think!_

"SUNNY!" Klaus shouted.

Then she had it.

**XOXO**

Violet reached the hallway outside the Gold Room and stopped outside the door. A man in a tux was standing a few feet down the hallway. She started to call out to him – perhaps he had been the one to arrive? – when she saw the blood running down the side of his face.

He raised his glass of wine to her.

"Splendid party, isn't it?" he asked in a Brittish accent, more blood trickling out of his mouth. She screamed and ran into the Gold Room, only to scream more loudly at the sight of a thousand dusty skeletons sitting in the chairs, at the tables, at the bar, even propped against the wall. Cobwebs clung to every place that cobwebs CAN cling. They were silent and motionless. She turned and ran out.

Then she saw the elevators. Blood spurted around the frames, eventually forcing the doors to open to let the torrent loose. Violet gasped (she was out of screams) and turned back once again, heading for the entrance to the hotel.

"_I'm going insane!"_ she hissed to herself. _"This is not happening! It's all a dream!"_

She ran into the lobby and saw a body on the floor. One she recognized.

"Quigley!" she shouted, running to him. Blood was congealing on the floor around him. There was a huge slash in his chest. His eyes stared up at her blankly. Violet shook his arm.

"Quigley…"

She sat there, tears forming in her eyes. But she only had a moment to mourn before she heard a shriek outside. _Sunny_. She gave Quigley a last sad look.

"Goodbye Quigley." Then she ran for the door.

**XOXO**

"SUNNY! I'm going to find you! Come back here!"

Sunny stopped and took a second to pant for breath. Then she began to step backwards, being careful to stay inside her previous footprints. Klaus was getting closer; she could hear his ragged breathing.

When she was a few lanes behind where her footsteps stopped, she slid sideways, scrambling beneath the hedge to get to the parallel lane. After a quick look back to make sure the snow wasn't obviously disturbed, she began running soundlessly back through the maze, trying to sense her way out.

Klaus stumbled on, gripping his axe tightly with one arm. When his glasses fell off into the snow, he did not bother to pick them up. He just limped faster, following Sunny's tracks…

**XOXO**

Violet ran out the door into the snow. She saw Quigley's Snocat parked out front.

"SUNNY!" she heard Klaus yell in the maze. She ran for the entrance to it, barely able to breathe with fear, when Sunny came running out.

"Violet!" Sunny cried, tears in her eyes.

"Sunny!" Violet swept her into her arms, relieved that Sunny was ok and herself again.

"COME BACK!" Klaus shouted, his voice sounding fainter. Violet dropped her knife and ran for the Snocat, still holding Sunny. She put her sister in the passenger seat and got behind the wheel. She had never driven one of these before, but it didn't look much harder than a car.

_Oh Klaus!_ She thought, giving one last look back at the evil hotel and the hedge maze. Then she started the engine and drove off down the slope, leaving behind the Overlook Hotel and her brother forever.

**XOXO**

Klaus looked around in bewilderment. How could the tracks have just ended? Dammit, he shouldn't have let his glasses drop back there!

"Sunny!" he cried, falling to his knees. "Violet!" It was so very cold. Maybe he would rest for a bit.

Then he heard a car driving away. They were leaving him? A wave of sorrow washed over him.

"Wait! Violet!" he began to crawl forward, but stopped. It was so cold. It was seeping into his bones. Maybe he could just take a small nap, just rest a while…

* * *

**  
**

**-END OF CHAPTER NINE-**

* * *

Sorry, it's really rushed. I can't write fast action, man… I'll fix it next year when I review my stories, I'm sure. 

Stay tuned for the epilogue!

Please review, as this may be that last chance to review this story… I would feel let down with no reviews, I would never write anything again… -sob-


	10. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

_Plop. Plop._

Joe sighed. Damn that faucet! Didn't it realized he was too busy taking care of the rest of the hotel to worry about a simple Janitor's closet sink?

He ignored the rude drip and grabbed a duster. Time to dust the pictures on the walls again, before the guests woke up.

He brushed the tops of the frames off, not bothering to check how he was doing. After all, how dusty could they get after only-

Wait! What was that? He looked closer at one of the pictures. It was of a ball hosted in the Gold Room. The sign said it was in '28. An enormous group of women in flappers and men in suits were bunched together for the photo. But the guy in the front, off to the side-

He rummaged in his sack for several minutes before he found it – last month's newspaper. He looked at the photo on the front, then at the 1920's picture.

"Well, ain't that queer!"

"Wotcher got there, Joe?" questioned Martha, a maid passing by.

"Lookit this, Martha!" He pointed to the newspaper. On it was a picture of a young boy who had been found frozen to death at the hotel a month ago. Then he pointed to the picture of the '28 ball.

"Well, that's strange!" Martha said, blinking a few times.

They looked from the picture in the newspaper to the picture on the wall. It was astounding. A freak of nature. An exact match!

The boy in the newspaper was very gruesome looking – blue skin, open eyes, and a light covering of frost on his face. The man in the photograph –

He stood there, smiling for the camera, one arm holding up his drink in a toast, the other wrapped around a girl in a flapper.

"They look the same!" exclaimed Martha. There was a pause.

"Maybe they're related." Ventured Joe.

"His grandson?"

"Yeah."

"Do grandchildren normally look like the twins of their grandparents?"

Joe shrugged. "Like I know?" he sighed. "C'mon, we better get going. I want to watch the David Letterman Show at eight." He shuffled away, muttering to himself.

Martha started to follow him – but suddenly stopped. She turned and stared intensely at the picture. Could it-?

No. Her mind was playing tricks on her. She turned and walked away.

Still. She could have sworn the man in the picture had winked.

* * *

**THE END**

* * *

Thanks to all the people who stuck to this story for what I fear is a rather rushed ending… it was fun writing the story and reading the reviews. Thank you all so much. –sobs, tearful momentness-

* * *

**Acknowledgements**

Spymaster E

Phish Tacko

LennonFan

xXxWhiteOneIsEvilxXx

SECOND DAUGHTER OF EVE

stef

Winter's Child

Admiral Brady  
Kinuye Ayabito

baudelaire7

Nightlark

kiffer

MoonDragon13

Gwen Aviere

Titus Black

Jessica01  
Moon in Pisces

Elfgirl91

Sonicmusic

blah


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